New Acting Police Chief Appointed Amid Controversy in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake appointed Senior Deputy Inspector General Priyantha Weerasuriya as the acting police chief, replacing Deshabandu Tennakoon, who was suspended by the Supreme Court for violating fundamental rights. Weerasuriya has a distinguished career spanning 36 years in the police force.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday appointed Senior Deputy Inspector General Priyantha Weerasuriya as the acting police chief, replacing Deshabandu Tennakoon who was suspended by the Supreme Court in July.

The Supreme Court suspended Tennakoon after he was found guilty of violating an individual's fundamental rights through torture in a 2011 incident. The move follows a court directive for disciplinary action, which was initially ignored by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe's government.

Weerasuriya, a law graduate from the University of Colombo, has served in the police for 36 years and is the first officer in the police's 158-year history to rise from the rank of a Police Constable to IGP.

(With inputs from agencies.)